The present invention generally relates to devices for the remote manipulation of items and, more particularly, relates to a device for grasping and manipulating hot or cold items or items that must be placed or manipulated in hot or cold environs.
When extremely hot or cold items must be moved from one place to another, it is desirable to handle those items from a remote position so as to avoid coming into direct contact with those items. This is also true when an item at non-extreme temperatures must be placed into an area that is maintained at an extremely high or low temperature. For example, while fire wood to be placed on a fire is not harmful to the touch, there is still an advantage to remotely manipulating the fire wood so that it may be placed at a precise location on a fire or in a kiln or stove, etc. To position a piece of fire wood on a fire with any precision, one must get very close to the fire, and risk being burned. Typically, to avoid being burned, fire wood is simply thrown on a fire from a location distant from the extreme temperature of the fire. Similarly, it is very difficult to manipulate a piece of fire wood that has already been placed on a fire, and devices for remotely manipulating the fire wood, such as pokers, must be employed.
The placement and repositioning of fire wood on a fire presents only one example of many instances in which extremely hot or cold items or items employed in extremely hot or cold applications must be manipulated. Other applications that come to mind include the manipulation of dry ice, foundry materials, pottery kiln materials, and the like. Indeed, there exists a multitude of applications in which the remote handling of items might be necessary.
The present invention serves to provide devices for remotely manipulating items so as to protect a worker from the extreme temperatures of either the items themselves or the devices in which the items must be placed or removed or manipulated. While it is understood that such devices currently exist in many different forms, the present invention provides many advantages over devices found in prior art, as will be seen in the disclosure to follow.
In general, the present invention provides a device for the remote manipulation of items comprising a support staff having a fore end and an aft end and including a handle at the aft end, a handle fulcrum proximate the aft end, a clamp fulcrum proximate the fore end, and a grip positioned between the handle fulcrum and the clamp fulcrum; a fork extending from the fore end of the support staff; a handle lever pivotally connected to the handle fulcrum and pivotal between an open position and a closed position; a clamp lever pivotally connected to the clamp fulcrum; a clamping tine extending from the clamp lever to be pivotal therewith between an open position and a closed position in relation to the fork; and a linkage extending between the handle lever and the clamp lever such that, when the handle lever is pivoted to the open position, the clamp lever is pivoted to place the clamping tine in the open position in relation to the fork, and, when the handle lever is pivoted to the closed position, the clamp lever is pivoted to place the clamping tine in the closed position in relation to the fork.
In particular embodiments of the present invention, the fork is staged to provide alternate widths between first and second tines thereof. The first and second tines are closer together proximate the fore end of the support staff and are staged further apart at a position distal from the fore end of the support staff. In this way, the fork, together with the clamping tine, is adapted to handle items of various dimensions, and may handle them in various positions. The device is configured such that the clamping tine is aligned between the first and second tines of the fork, and, in particularly preferred embodiments, the clamping tine and the first and second tines of the fork provide a tripod support that allows the device to be free standing in either the open or closed position.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a shovel attachment is provided that may be selectively placed on or removed from the fork of the device. The shovel attachment is particularly useful in fireplace, kiln, stove, or campfire applications. Particularly, the shovel attachment attaches to each of the individual tines of the fork of the device, and spans therebetween. Notably, the shovel attachment may be provided as part of yet another embodiment for the present invention, namely, a fireplace kit. A fireplace kit according to this invention would provide the device for remote manipulation of items, as above, the shovel attachment, and an additional straight poker, separate and distinct from the device and the shovel attachment, and providing a fork shaped like the fork of the device for the remote manipulation of items, such that the shovel attachment may be selectively placed on either the device or the straight poker.
Thus, the present invention also provides a kit for the remote manipulation of items comprising a clamping device including (a) a support staff having a fore end and an aft end and including a handle at the aft end, a handle fulcrum proximate the aft end, a clamp fulcrum proximate the fore end, and a grip positioned between the handle fulcrum and the clamp fulcrum; a fork extending from the fore end of the support staff; a handle lever pivotally connected to the handle fulcrum and pivotal between an open position and a closed position; a clamp lever pivotally connected to the clamp fulcrum; a clamping tine extending from the clamp lever to be pivotal therewith between an open position and a closed position in relation to the fork; and a linkage extending between the handle lever and the clamp lever such that, when the handle lever is pivoted to the open position, the clamp lever is pivoted to place the clamping tine in the open position in relation to the fork, and, when the handle lever is pivoted to the closed position, the clamp lever is pivoted to place the clamping tine in the closed position in relation to the fork; (b) a straight poker, separate from the clamping device, comprising a staff having a fork extending therefrom; and (c) a shovel attachment capable of being selectively received on the fork of the clamping device or the fork of the straight poker.